TOWER CLOSURES DELAYED AMID DEBATE

The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday said it would delay until June 15 the closure of 149 air traffic control towers across the country, including those at Ramona Airport and Brown Field in Otay Mesa.

The agency said the postponement would give it time to deal with mounting legal challenges to its decision to shut down the towers.

Ramona’s tower had been set to close Sunday, while Brown Field’s was to be shuttered May 5.

The delay comes amid a debate about the necessity of having air traffic towers at the nation’s smaller, less busy airports.

Some elected leaders, including San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, said the towers’ staff are extra eyes in the sky critical to preventing a disaster like the 1995 mid-air collision over Ramona that killed three firefighting personnel.

Others said the towers are a luxury the nation can do without. Several local pilots and transportation experts, though happy to have the towers, said they don’t believe safety will be compromised if the facilities are closed.

Many of the towers are “nice to have but probably not a necessity,” said Robert Poole, founder of the Reason Foundation, a conservative think tank in Los Angeles and the group’s director of transportation studies.

“All things being equal, it’s better to have a tower than not to. They do perform a function,” Poole added. “(But) are we going to have lots of planes falling out of the sky? I don’t think so.”

Ramona Airport

The Ramona Airport is home to 137 aircraft, a mix of small Cessna planes and restored World War II-era war birds. It is also home to the Ramona Air Attack Base, from which state firefighting aircraft battle blazes across the region.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, urged the FAA last month to spare the Ramona tower from closure due to the presence of the Air Attack Base.

Jacob, who represents East County on the Board of Supervisors, said Friday that she wasn’t satisfied with the FAA’s two-month delay. She repeated her worry about another calamity unless the tower closures are canceled permanently.

“The tower is on the front line of public safety in our region ... especially as we approach the height of the wildfire season,” she said.

Jacob also said the county is continuing to pay off the cost of building the tower, while the federal government has “broken its promise” to pay for its operation.

Nationwide, about 50 airport operators and communities have indicated that they want to offer local dollars to keep their towers open, according to the FAA.

While San Diego County has a healthy financial reserve, Jacob said it won’t pay for tower staffing because it does “not have a money tree.”

Jacob’s spokesman said Friday that the county’s attorneys are “exploring the idea of a lawsuit” against the federal government.

Brown Field

Attorneys for the city of San Diego plan to discuss the pending closure of Brown Field’s tower in an upcoming closed session, said Lisa Schmidt, deputy chief of staff for Councilman David Alvarez.